Angry Politics

I have been watching quite a bit of the convention this week.  One of the most disappointing speeches was from our former governor Tim Pawlenty.  I like Tim Pawlenty, but this speech was so bitter and filled with vitriol that I almost wanted to turn it off.  He threw angry one liner after angry one liner for about 10 minutes.

I'm tired of politics like this.  Shouldn't we as Americans and even more so, Christians hope that the President is successful in helping America?  Shouldn't we work together and compromise to try and do what's best for the country?

Last night when Mitt Romney spoke I really appreciated his tone.  It was different.  It was almost a lament for our country.  He was disappointed in President Obama, but he didn't come off as bitter.  He said, "I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed."  Now, one could question his sincerity, but the sentiment rings true.  I also thought it was great how he connected with some people who voted for Obama.  In the clip below he pretty much says the same thing that Pawlenty did.  You voted for Obama and it seemed like a great thing at the time.  Now you're rethinking it.


I'm not hopeful on this, but I would sure like to see a little less anger and bitterness in our political system over the next few months.  I'll cross my fingers.

Nathan video

Here's another video from when we were in the hospital. I love all of his little sounds. Everyone is doing well here. Amanda is up and around and Nathan is feeding well. We went to the doctor's yesterday and he is gaining weight well. I go back to work tomorrow.

The weather here has been amazing so the kids and I have been spending a lot of time outside. Matthew found a crab apple tree on our property a few days ago. Today we picked a bunch and made crabapple sauce. Yummo! The end of summer is a wonderful time on the farm. It's a great time to have been born.

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Four very excited kids and . . . Lucy

All of the kids had been counting down the days until Nathan came. They couldn't wait to meet their new little brother. Lucy was excited too, I'm not sure though if she knew exactly what was coming.

When the kids all got to the hospital on the day he was born, Lucy was very nervous and did not want anything to do with Nathan. She hardly wanted to get up in bed with Amanda. Then Amanda started bleeding and all the kids had to leave.

The next day when they came back Lucy still didn't want to be near him. All the other kids though couldn't get enough. They all wanted to hold him and didn't want to stop. Molly said, "I want to being him home now."

Lucy was not even excited about the compulsory group picture.

We finally got her to give him a little kiss though before it was time to go. That night Shube said that Lucy said, "Our baby is pwetty." She's warming up to him already.

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The Birth of Nathan John

I'm able to blog from my iPad now so, you should be seeing some more posts coming this week. Here are the stats on our little guy.

Nathan John was born at 9:31AM. He was 8lbs 12 oz and 21 inches long. Amanda was super happy because they allowed him to be with her the whole time during the surgery. When he came out they did the quick eye goop and the vitamin k shot and then he was back at Amanda's head. Usually they have taken the kids to the nursery to do all of this.

Things went pretty well in the hospital. Amanda had some major bleeding immediately after we go into our room, but they were able to get that under control with some medicine. It was a little scary, but we are thankful everyone is all right.

We're home now and glad to be. I'll write more soon about the other kids and their reactions to their new brother. Thanks for all of you that prayed for us in the last few days.

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Introducing, Nathan John

We are so thankful to God for his blessing of our new son, Nathan John. He is very sweet and looks like an interesting mix of all of our other boys. Amanda is doing well after the surgery. She is already up and out of bed. I am amazed by her and even more the strength and protection that God gives to her. Thank you for your prayers for us. Many more pictures to come as I'm able.

Politics

Listening to the radio last week, I heard a talk about former Ambassador Andrew Young.  He is an ordained minister and was a colleague of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the civil rights movement.  He said that is his political career he had four goals that he wanted to address in each of his decisions.

Feed the hungry
Heal the sick
Clothe the naked
Set at liberty those who are oppressed

He was the Ambassador to the United Nations in the Carter administration.  When he first began, the elders of the Native American bands of New York came to him to remind him that he was not their ambassador.  They wanted to give him some advise from their ancestors, though.  They said, "When we make decisions we must think of the seventh generation yet unborn."  Young said that if politicians today began to think of the second generation yet unborn, they would get things a lot better than they are now.

I have just begun reading an abridged version of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.  Here is a quote from the Monseigneur Bienvenu.

"The faults of women, of children, of the feeble, the indigent, and the ignorant, are the fault of the husbands, the fathers, the strong, the rich and the wise."

Vids Party

The vids party originated at Brad's house as an excuse for Brad to be able to stay up late and play video games.  The recurring parties have been highlights for our boys.  This time around they went to Gregg's house.  As you can see it included some retro Nintendo, Wii and PS3.  According to Ben they were up until 12:30 AM.  What's better than hanging with your uncles playing vids and eating popcorn?

Popcorn Party

The boys went to Gregg's house last night for a vids (video games) party.  So the girls decided they'd have a movie night and watch Lady and the Tramp.  And what's a movie night without popcorn?  Once the baby comes and starts sleeping well, Lucy will move into Molly's bed full-time.  There are to be many more nights like this.

Caleb and cukes

Like last summer we have a bounty of cucumbers coming out of the garden.  Therefore, the kids have reopened the cuke stand at the side of the road.  The ones that we had were a little big so they dropped their price to $.25.  All of them were out there for a while yesterday but they soon began to drop like flies.  It was hot.  But Caleb, who has become the supervisor, was out the whole time.  When I got home at 5:00, he was still waving his sign, red faced as could be.  The other kids helped him get everything inside and he paid his workers according to the time that they worked.  It's fun to watch, especially because Caleb does such a great job with it and is so proud of his work.

Ben=Gregg

Amanda saw this picture of Ben last night and said he looked just like Gregg.

What up, Craig?!

Summer Sports Co-op

For the last three summers the kids have enjoyed a home school summer sports co-op. Every Thursday night we get together with a bunch of other families and play baseball and soccer. It's not very serious, but the kids have fun. Here are some shots from last night.

Countdown

We are now under two weeks until go time for the new baby.  We are excited and a bit overwhelmed at all we have to do to get ready.

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